The Lounge Lizards were relating with a tradition and it was like I was playing within a musical context. The guitar playing stood out as being different in some way. That was a real education for me.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was being ridiculed for going to school... But, you see, I had looked hard at the other musicians and the whole show-business scene... They were doing with jazz musicians what they usually reserved for rock n' roll cats: making them overnight successes, then overnight antiques.
I've learned a lot from being a chameleon, sort of adopting the musical personalities of who I was playing with.
I was known around the college for jamming in the lounge.
At my high school, there were always kids carrying acoustic guitars around, which is why I named my band the Mountain Goats. I didn't want to seem like one of those guys who brought his guitar to the party whether you asked him to or not.
I was very lucky that more experienced musicians allowed me to caterwaul until I figured out what it was really about.
My parents encouraged us to commit to things, so if we wanted to learn an instrument, it was all the grades and all the theory.
I've got an article where my mum says that I used to run home from school to watch the Stones on TV. Right from when I was at college I wanted to be in that band.
I was always wrapped around music being a tradition, a skill.
I taught myself how to play the guitar. I never studied music.
I just couldn't take school seriously: I had this guitar neck with four frets which I kept hidden under the desk. It had strings on it so I would practice my chord shapes under the desk and that's about all I did at school.